By Bob Bakken
MaxPreps.com
Madison continued its streak of consecutive South Dakota state girls gymnastics titles with its 15th straight Class A championship Friday in Rapid City.
The Bulldogs finished with a team score of 137.528. The victory kept a national record streak going and Madison became the first South Dakota school to have a state championship streak of 15 seasons in any sport.
Sioux Falls Washington ran a 14-year string of state football championships between 1951 and 1964. The streak is the only one growing among the state championship streaks in the 28 sports of the National Federation of High School Activities Associations. On its way to this year’s state title, Madison won the floor exercise, vault, and beam events. Deuel finished second and Britton-Hecla took third.
Gymnastics: Rew wins AA all-around title
Mitchell’s Amelia Rew won the individual all-around title at the state Class AA girls gymnastics championships on Saturday in Rapid City.
Rew won four events on her way to the crown, including the beam, vault, floor exercise, and bars. Her top score came in the vault, where she finished with a 9.85. Meanwhile, Watertown was the team champion for the meet with 144.811 points to Mitchell’s 144.043 points.
The win was the Arrows’ second state team championship and the first for the school since 2006. Watertown also celebrated a hall of fame induction as former coach Mark Bellum was honored during the state meet.
Boys Basketball: White hits 1,000-point plateau
Madison senior Chad White scored his 1,000 career point in the Bulldogs’ 64-42 victory at Vermillion Thursday night.
White hit two free throws early in the one-sided win on the Tanagers’ home floor to reach the plateau, becoming the second Madison player in history to score 1,000 points. The other Bulldog to reach the mark was 2007 graduate Brady Wiebe, who now plays for Dakota Wesleyan University.
Another Bulldog could reach the mark before the season is over, as Tony Fiegen is at 915, and could break the mark by the time the season is over.
Girls Basketball: Brandon Valley top Pierre for ESD title share
Brandon Valley assured itself of a share of the Eastern South Dakota Conference championship, as the third-ranked Lynx topped the second-ranked Pierre Governors 64-53 Saturday in Brandon.
Heidi Hoff led Brandon Valley in scoring with 17 points, while Pierre was paced by Steph Paluch with a game-high 34 points. Paluch was 12-of-14 at the free throw line.
Brandon Valley moved to 17-3 overall and 12-2 in the ESD, while Pierre fell to 16-2 and 10-2 in the conference with two league games remaining.
Girls Basketball: Washington wins to gain district’s top seed
Class AA No. 1-ranked Sioux Falls Washington rebounded from its second loss of the year Friday against Sioux Falls Roosevelt to defeat cross-town rival Lincoln 62-47 Saturday at Lincoln.
The win solidified the Warriors’ hold on the No. 1 seed for the upcoming District 2-AA tournament. The Warriors got 22 points and 20 rebounds from Ashley Eide in the contest, as the Warriors improved their record to 17-2 overall and 10-1 in the Greater Dakota Conference.
A victory over Sioux Falls O’Gorman on Tuesday will clinch the conference title for the Warriors.
Wrestling: Sturgis wins regional, sends 10 to state
Sturgis won the Region 4-A wrestling title at Spearfish with 191.5 points on Saturday.
The Scoopers won seven individual titles and qualified ten wrestlers for the state meet. Regional champions included Tanner Bothwell (103 pounds), Josh Keszler (119), Seth Lange (125), Jason Duprel (130), Nate Wilson (135), Clint Wilson (171) and Chris Vinson (285).
The state Class A meet will be next weekend in Watertown.
Wrestling: Canton qualifies 11 to state with regional title
In Region 2-A wrestling tournament competition at Hartford, Canton won the regional team championship and qualified 11 wrestlers for the state meet next weekend in Watertown.
Canton easily defeated second-place Vermillion for the team crown with 210 points to the Tanagers’ 159.5.
Yankton finished third and Sioux Falls Washington was fourth. Yankton and Sioux Falls Washington qualified eight wrestlers for the state meet, as the top four finishes from each regional go on to state.
